Night Latches and options

I don't often get phone calls but I had a pleasant conversation recently with Jim who called to ask about using tie rings then asked me what I thought about using night latches. He said he found out that the horn isn't always the easiest thing to hold onto when going up and down hills. 

A night latch is generally a strap with a buckle, like a short belt, that goes between the gullet of your saddle to give the rider something to hold onto when a horse goes to bucking. The name came from riders watching a herd at night would grab ahold of the night latch with one hand in case they fell asleep in the saddle. Yes, it happens - I've fallen asleep riding. Also, Night Latches are useful to hold onto when a horse bolts, or when moving up or down a steep hill.

There are some riders who find holding onto anything, like a night latch or the saddle horn, distasteful or even amateurish. I don't at all. Unless you are riding bucking horse in a ranch rodeo, I don't see anything demeaning about holding on to the horn or a night latch when you think it is needed. When riding downhill I often put one hand against the horn to brace myself. 

The problem is that the horn of a saddle generally requires a palm down kind of grip which places your elbow out and away from the rider's body where they are weakest. The bigger the horn in diameter, the harder it is to hold onto to, including hard for me as I have Wade Saddles with fairly big diameter horns. The Night Latch requires a palm towards the rider grip which turns your elbow in towards the body and allows the rider a stronger hold.

I have a Night Latch from Craig Cameron which is made out of stout harness leather with a really good roller buckle.  See photo at right.  They are sold at thi link: Craig Cameron Night Latches.

There are also any makers who make similar night latches, and perhaps the best design I saw was one with a rolled leather section making it easier on the hand to hold onto.  

Years and years ago, when I used to pony my daughter around, I used an old pants belt I had cut about 2/3rd length off, then punched buckle holes in, and ran it through the gullet of the saddle so she had something to hold onto. So, if anyone wanted to try out using a night latch, an old belt can be modified quite easily for that purpose. 

Now having wrote all that about night latches, I just use my lariat as a hand hold when I need it. It kind of depends on the type of rope strap you are using. My saddles all have rope straps secured to the right side below the horn - see the photo at the top right if this article, also acting as an anchor point for the mule hide horn wrap. I wrap the rope strap tight, with four or five wraps then the end of the strap goes across the saddle to a buckle on the left side. It's secure enough and easy to grab. Your palm won't really be facing you, but still turned in somewhat keeping your elbow closer to your body to make your hold stronger.